Monthly Archives: February 2010

Created by Japanese art director and copywriter Masashi Kawamura, this Rainbow In Your Hand flip book is mesmerizing.

The 36-page book (currently only available in Japan) has an image of the color spectrum against a black background on each page, creating the illusion of an arced rainbow hovering above the pages as the pages flip by.

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Today it was announced on Stephen King’s message board that his next book will be a collection of 4 previously unpublished novellas. The title will be Full Dark, No Stars. The book will be released on November 9th, 2010. The Fire Wire will post more details as they become available.

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David Sedaris’s next book will be a book of animal fables, and he’s turning to someone with a lot of experience when it comes to pigs for the artwork. Little, Brown and Company will release Sedaris’s Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary in October 2010, with cover and interior artwork by Ian Falconer of Olivia fame.

Sedaris will be doing a lecture tour in October, which will also serve as the brunt of his tour for the new book. However, Little, Brown plans to tack an additional 10 days of bookstore events in early November onto that tour. Bookstores and cities have yet to be selected.

There are currently 6.5 million copies of Sedaris’s books in print, and they have been translated into 25 languages. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk will be his seventh book with Little, Brown.

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Joe Hill has made a name for himself, both literally—he’s Stephen King’s son, but he writes under a pen name derived from his full name, Joseph Hillstrom King—and literarily. His debut short-story collection, 2005’s 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, and his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, reached No. 8 on the New York Times bestseller list. His new novel, Horns, tells the story of a young man, Ignatius Perrish, cursed with the power to bring out the worst in everyone. While Ig tries to understand what’s happened to him, his new abilities begin to transform him, as well as provide him with the tools to finally figure out who murdered his girlfriend a year ago. Horns is an exciting step forward in Hill’s work, deepening the complexities of Heart-Shaped Box while keeping true to its genre soul. Hill recently sat down with The A.V. Club to talk about his comic-book series Locke & Key, the need for love in storytelling, and how sometimes the devil might be a good friend to have.

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A copy of Batman’s debut in a 1939 comic book has sold for 1.075 million dollars, narrowly beating another huge auction this week for a Superman comic.

Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Texas, said the copy of Detective Comics Number 27, which pictures Batman swooping on a villain, sold Thursday for 1,075,500 dollars.

That beat the record price paid for a comic set just Monday when the first issue of Action Comics to feature Superman sold for one million dollars in New York. “The first appearance of Batman, this comic has been considered among the top books in the hobby ever since comic collecting began,” Heritage Auction said.

Join famed builder and explorer Clutch Powers as he embarks on a series of epic adventures that lead from the deepest, darkest reaches of space to a medieval kingdom ruled by an evil wizard. After fighting for justice on a distant prison planet, Clutch travels to the magical land of Ashlar, where the dreaded Mallock the Malign is attempting to usurp the king’s throne. As Mallock’s powerful skeleton army closes in, Clutch puts his construction skills to use by erecting an impenetrable brick wall.

The 82 minute long DVD is available in stores this week.

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DC’s shocking new pulp universe is finally unveiled! In the shadows of the War, the roots of the Golden Tree cabal grew deep into the heart of a fallen world… and the leaders at the heart of this secret organization see no place in their utopia for heroism. Doc Savage, struggling with the loss of his father, has been blind to their advance – until now. Central City’s mysterious Spirit has caught wind of their plans as well. But whose side have the Blackhawks chosen? What is the Red Right Hand? And where is the Batman? Eisner Award winner Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Joker) and superstar Rags Morales (Identity Crisis) craft a DC universe like you’ve never seen before! It’s a world with no supermen, only mortal men… Death can come at any moment, and adventure can still be found at every corner of the map! Will Doc Savage be the first to lead the coming world or the last to be crushed under its heel?

Issue # 1 arrives on March 3rd, 2010 and you can view a preview of the issue HERE.

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Have you ever been watching TV or a movie and pointed to the screen and said, “Hey! It’s That Guy!”? Well, HERE is where you’ll find him. This page is dedicated to the character actors collectively known as “That Guy”.

That Guy is easy to recognize and difficult to place. You can describe him but not name him.

If someone asks, “Do you know the old grubby guy with a big belly and wild white hair that always wears a beat up brown derby and plays a drunk in westerns?” You’ll know exactly who they mean, but you’ll have no idea that his name is Dub Taylor.

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Trixie is a perfect playmate for prehistoric playtime! Visit the era when dinosaurs ruled the Earth! Made of rigid, durable plastic and in friendly shades of blue and purple, Trixie features an expressive mouth and movable legs. This gentle Triceratops will feed any child’s imagination. Also available: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus and Velociraptor.

Trixie will be voiced by the equally lovable Kristen Schaal.

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David Goyer (The Dark Knight and Blade) will write the new Superman movie, to be titled The Man of Steel! Goyer “had an idea that actually takes the movies back to the John Byrne incarnation. Modern. Believable. FUN!”

The site adds that Brandon Routh will not star in the film and Bryan Singer is not expected to direct.

Goyer’s story involves Lex Luthor and Brainiac. It is not an origin and assumes audiences already know about Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry. The story also sets up a huge Kryptonian mythology.